Rupert Murdoch has resigned from several British company boards, including the NI Group, the Times Newspaper Holdings, and Newscorp Investments. A News Corp. spokesperson said the resignations were “nothing more than a corporate housecleaning exercise,” but because those companies control UK’s The Sun, The Times and The Sunday Times, there is plenty of speculation of what this means.

The British, at least some of them, seemed pleased by Murdoch’s move. One analyst told The Telegraph, “James and Rupert have decided that they are not welcome in the UK, and they’re right.” But what about here in the states?

The New York Times noted that “It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Murdoch’s American newspaper and publishing interests would be affected.” Others took a firmer stance, claiming Murdoch was far from leaving his beloved stateside papers.

“Any major Murdoch retreat from newspapers will have to await the old man’s departure to the great newsroom in the sky,” reported The Daily Beast.